“Then, having gone to the other coast of the ocean you reach River Shona, waters of which will be reddish with deep and speedy drift, and which is adored by siddha-s and carana-s. You have to scout thereabout for Vaidehi as well as for Ravana, at those beautiful ghats, say littorals of that Shona River, and in the amazing forests alongshore. Then proceed to an island called Plaksha Island. [4-40-34]..

“On that Plaksha Island very vast rivers emerge from mountains, but alongshore they have many pleasure gardens. You have to search in those gardens and at rivers together with cavernous mountains and forests of that island, and then proceed to Ikshu Island. [4-40-35]

“It will be apt of you to proceed from there and see the terribly furious, tempestuous, blaring, and tide-ripped ocean called ikshu samudra, Salt Ocean, and that ocean’s islands which will be extremely ghastly. [4-40-36]

“From there, on going to the disastrous ocean named Lohita, Red Ocean, for its waters are red, you shall see the colossal tree Kuuta-shalmali. This island is called shaalmali dwiipa, Shaalmali Island because oif this tree. [4-40-39]

This kuuTa-shalmali tree in Indian variety is Andersonia Rohitaka, and in Malayan, Malaysian variety, it is Kapok tree, [Ceiba pentandra, the seeds of which are covered with silk cotton. Because it is on Shalmali Island, one among Java, Sumatra etc., islands, it is called kuuTa shalmali tree. The Red Ocean is also called madhu samudra ‘Wine Ocean.’

“On that Shalmali Island in Wine Ocean you will be seeing the mansion of Vinata’s son, namely Garuda, the Eagle-vehicle of Vishnu, which is decorated with numerous jewels, and which in sheen will be like Mt. Kailash, the abode of Shiva. This mansion is a construction of Vishvakarma, the Heavenly Architect. [4-40-40]

“There exists a fantastically refulgent Fire in the form of Horse’s Face that originated from the anger of Sage Aurasa. The victuals to that Fire is said to be that highly speedy waves of the ocean, together with all of the mobile and sessile beings of the world at the close of each Era. [4-40-48b, 49a]

Aurasa derives from the word uuru, meaning ‘the thigh.’ The mother of this sage hid him under her thigh when some kings came to kill, as such he got this name. Then with vengeance this sage started to burn the world with his yogic fire, but his manes came to him to pacify and asked him to release his yogic fire in oceanic water. When he did so, that fire remained underwater, ready to emerge from a cavity like that of a she-horse’s mouth, from beneath the ocean from the South Pole. This fire is called vaDaba agni, or baDaba anala , referred here as Horse’s Face. At the time of yuga anta, End of Era, that fire emerges out, and the whole creation, with all its sessile and mobile beings, becomes its fuel, as said in next verse. This episode is detailed in aadi parva , First Canto, Maha Bharata

“On the northern province of that soft-water ocean there is a hugely enormous mountain named Jaataruupa-shila, Golden Rock Mountain, which glitters like gold and which spreads across thirteen yojana-s. [4-40-50].

“That pylon of palm tree is constructed as the easterly compass by celestials gods, and beyond that a completely golden mountain is there, namely the august Udaya Mountain, the Mt. Sunrise, beyond which it is all west. The pinnacles of Mt. Sunrise will be touching heavens for their height is hundred yojana-s and that divine mountain greatly glitters for it is completely golden, and it is pedestalled with suchlike glittering mountains. [4-40-54, 55]

William’s Vishnu Purana states: ‘here is an interesting reference to the physical phenomena of the apparent diurnal motion of the sun, which sets in the west [America, and reappears again in the east jambu dviipa, the central continent, Asia.

“The Sun is by far discernable in Jambu Dwiipa when he rises on this zenithal pinnacle Saumanasa, after he had circled the Jambu Dwiipa in a northerly route. [4-40-59]

The sunrises in the East on the peak of this Saumanasa which is on the zenith of Udaya Mountain. Then he traverses above Jambu Dwiipa, Indian Subcontinent, including South-East Asia, and sets in the West on the mountains called asta adri, ‘ the Sunset Mountain.’ Then he courses northerly on the other side of the globe via Mt. Meru in heavens at the other side of Jambu Dwiipa, only to rise again on this Mt. Sunrise. As Jambu Dwiipa, the subcontinent lies southerly to that heavenly Mt. Meru, and down East-South of Saumanasa, this subcontinent can happily see the First Sun, daily. This gives raise to the Indian name of India, that is Bhaarata, bhaa rataH Sun, delights…’ The place where the Sun delights firstly, that is bhaarata…’

“In the presence of which resplendence the eyes of all living beings will become enlightened, and whereat that illuminating entity of universe, namely the Sun, will be sojourning, this is that Sudarshana Island, named so because it contains Sudarshana lake. [4-40-61].

Some interesting notes.You strive hard in the island of Yava, which will be splendorous with seven kingdoms, like that even in Golden and Silver islands that are en-wreathed with gold-mines, in and around Yava islands. [4-40-30]

In the same verse two islands are mentioned,the Golden Island and the Silvern – of which the Golden Island isidentified asSumatra. The ancient Indian name for Sumatra indeed was Swarna Dwipa which translates as- ‘Golden Island’.

As the search party moves farther east, there are descriptions of a mountain by the name ‘Shishira’ (शिशिर) whose peak ‘pierces the heaven’. (4-40-31). The tallest mountain in the Indonesian islands is located in Papua and may well be the peak mentioned in the Ramayana. Its name today is Puncak Jaya and it stands at 4884 metres. ‘Shishira’ simply means peak or summit...Then there is a mention of ‘rapid red waters’ of the River Shona. ‘Shona’ (शोण) means ‘red’ in Sanskrit. (4-40-33). They are told to proceed to an island called Plaksha and further on to Ikshu Island. They will then confront a furious and tempestuous tide-ripped ocean and its islands. Ahead is another ocean named Lohita. (Lohita means ‘yellow’ but the waters are described as a mix of yellow and red. This is most likely the Coral Sea of Australia. .यव द्वीपम् अतिक्रम्य शिशिरो नाम पर्वतः |दिवम् स्पृशति शृन्गेण देव दानव सेवितः || 4-40-31ततो रक्त जलम् प्राप्य शोण आख्यम् शीघ्र वाहिनीम् |गत्वा पारम् समुद्रस्य सिद्ध चारण सेवितम् || 4-40-33

After crossing the sea, the author says, becomes visible the tallest ever ‘Shalmali’ (शाल्मलि) tree on an island. The botanical name for the Sanskrit ‘Shalmali’ is ‘Salmalia Malabaricatralia’ and is also referred to as ‘Bombax Ceiba’. It is native to Asia and Northern Australia. The island mentioned by Valmiki is probably somewhere in the region where the Fraser island of today stands. ‘Shalmali’ are tall trees growing up to a height of 80 feet. The Vishnu Purana refers to Australia as ‘Shalmali Dwipa’.

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